SBIR Phase I: 3D Printing Reentry Capsules

小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是加速人类对太空的利用和探索。国际空间站每年花费10亿美元用于货物运输，但每年返回有效载荷的机会有限。造成这一瓶颈的原因是再入飞行器的生产已经过时，阻碍了微重力研究和空间制造业的发展。随着商业空间站预计将在未来十年内大幅增加太空货物返回需求，这个问题变得更加紧迫。通过使用三维（3D）打印，整个再入舱（包括结构和隔热罩）的制造和翻新速度比传统制造快10倍，成本估计降低95%。这种创新的3D打印解决方案将提高空间站货物补给和返回的节奏并降低成本，促进低地球轨道经济的发展。高价值有效载荷从太空的频繁返回将对包括制药，半导体，光纤等在内的多个行业产生重大影响，该技术还将为各种大气层进入或高超音速应用提供快速低成本的飞行器开发，包括空间资源返回，深空探测器，快速全球交付，高超音速飞行测试等。SBIR第一阶段项目将开发高强度隔热材料的3D打印。该研究将测试3D打印样本，以证明有史以来第一个完全3D打印的胶囊能够从太空重返地球的可行性。核心创新是一种平台技术，该技术将首次能够快速，大规模，直接墨写3D打印航空级热固性复合浆料材料。为了实现这一点，市售的和广泛验证的热固性树脂将直接固化在沉积点在几秒钟内使用一种新的快速加热方法。这些材料通常需要在烤箱中固化数小时，因此该项目预计将展示固化性能最高的航空级材料的速度比以往任何时候都快。这种原位固化直接喷墨3D打印创新将成为航空航天复合材料制造的突破。该项目中使用的复合材料配方将由经过飞行验证的再入舱隔热板上使用的相同原材料制成，但可定制为在重量减半的情况下与铝一样坚固。 该复合材料将作为再入舱的结构和热屏蔽。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to accelerate humanity’s utilization and exploration of space. The International Space Station spends $1 billion annually on cargo transport but has limited opportunities for payload return each year. This bottleneck is caused by outdated reentry vehicle production that hinders microgravity research and in-space manufacturing developments. The problem is becoming more pressing as commercial space stations are expected to increase space cargo return demand significantly in the next decade. By using 3-dimensional (3D) printing, manufacturing and refurbishment of entire reentry capsules (both the structure and heat shield) is 10 times faster and an estimated 95% lower in cost compared to traditional manufacturing. This innovative 3D printing solution will increase the cadence and lower the cost of space station cargo resupply and return, promoting the development of a robust low Earth orbit economy. Frequent returns of high-value payloads from space will have substantial impacts on several industries including pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, fiber optics, etc. The technology will also provide rapid low-cost development of vehicles for various atmospheric entry or hypersonic applications including space resource return, deep space probes, rapid global delivery, hypersonic flight testing, and more. This SBIR Phase I project will develop 3D printing of high-strength heat shield materials. The research will test 3D printed specimens to demonstrate the feasibility of the first ever, entirely 3D printed capsules capable of surviving reentry from space. The core innovation is a platform technology that will be capable of rapid, large-scale, direct ink write 3D printing of aerospace-grade thermoset composite paste materials for the first time. To achieve this, the commercially available and widely proven thermoset resins will be cured directly at the point of deposition in seconds using a novel rapid heating method. These materials typically require hours in an oven to cure, so the project is expected to demonstrate curing the highest-performing aerospace-grade materials faster than they have ever been cured before. This in-situ curing direct ink write 3D printing innovation will be a breakthrough in aerospace composite manufacturing. The composite formulations used in the project will be made of the same raw materials as used on flight-proven reentry capsule heat shields, but tailorable to be as strong as aluminum at half the weight. The composites will perform as both the structure and heat shield on reentry capsules.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.